Aaaaand add another great Eagl post to the collection. Hey Eagl, if you have time, can you answer a couple other questions? I've always wondered what the split was on training and and importance between A2G and A2A with you F15E drivers. From what I've read it's nearly as good as the F15C, and can fly at weights far far beyond the C model, as well as carry the same 8 missile or more loadout, as well as more fuel, giving you obviously more time in the battlespace before having to tank. How much did you get to focus on fighting other aircraft as opposed to blowing stuff up on the ground with all those nifty air to ground systems. And when you did get to fight, how much like the F15C were your maneuvers and tactics and such?
Back when I was flying the Eagle, we did about 10-15% pure air to air, 10-15% pure air to ground, and the remainder was as much as possible multi-role missions. For example, if I flew 10 sorties in a month, maybe one or two would be BFM/ACM or air superiority kind of stuff, one or two might be dedicated to going to the bombing range to practice the basics, and the rest would be something like a low level to the training area, fly to a target opposed by some red air bandits which we had to kill, drop the bombs, and then fight our way back out against the same red air who we would have regenerate at a different spot to try to get us on egress. So the training really overlapped a lot, and rarely would we dedicate a training flight to only A/A or A/G. Sorties dedicated to training for special weapons would be added on to that, but that was the general training flow.
Regarding loadout, the F-15E can carry 4 missiles with almost every conventional a/a or a/g loadout with no aircraft configuration change. To carry more than 4 missiles, we have to configure the conformal fuel tanks from bombs to missiles, which takes time and effort. So we rarely did that. But if required, we could reasonably quickly change configuration as the mission dictated.
As for effectiveness compared to the F-15C, we could do pretty much everything they could, just a bit slower/lower. The CFTs add weight and a LOT of drag, so we just don't go as fast, don't usually cruise quite as high, and certainly don't accelerate or maneuver as well. But the basic weapons systems are comparable with minor differences in capabilities. The new AESA radar used on some Eagles is a different story, but fielding that across all types is mostly a budget issue. There are a couple of things the F-15E can do that an F-15C can't, but they're not revolutionary game changers or anything. Having a WSO able to share the workload is a good thing especially in high threat situations. One time we went out 4v4 at night against some F-15Cs, and their data link system was not working. We didn't even have datalink in the F-15E at the time, so while they were falling back to their secondary gameplan we were executing our primary plan. With the Pilots maintaining tactical formation and maneuvering while the WSO was able to use the systems to keep SA high, we shredded the F-15Cs during two separate engagements. Embarassing for them but not entirely unexpected since although they are the "experts" in that sort of thing, they were playing in our ballpark (night complex missions) so that really evened things out.
For the nitty gritty maneuvers during BFM, we had similar capabilities for a first move, and after that we were pretty much sitting ducks if we didn't force the engagement our way right away. But all the BFM basics that apply to them also apply to us, we're just fatter and draggier so we can't expect the plane's performance to save us or fly us out of a bad situation. But we both have a 9G break turn, a certain number of degrees AOA, and the same weapons release parameters, so the basic objective of putting your plane into the weapons envelope and employing a high Pk shot is exactly the same. An F-15E just needs to shoot first and don't accept neutral, because that ends poorly in a "fair" fight against a modern fighter. Helmet mounted sight expands the employment envelope but it doesn't make up for the fact that the F-15E is still the fat kid on the block. That's great if you need a fullback or 20,000 lbs of bombs dropped somewhere, not so good in a BFM engagement.
For a basic air superiority role with a reasonably permissive ROE though, an F-15E can be tasked for anything an F-15C can be tasked for. The C models really focus on that though, so it is better if they get those air to air taskings. Still, if the JSF doesn't work out (or even if it does), I personally think it would be a fine idea to send our remaining F-15Cs to the guard and buy another 500 or so new-build F-15Es. They wouldn't lose ANY performance since the new motors have about 8000lbs more thrust and you can leave the CFTs and pods off, and they'd have all the new gadgets onboard. A "clean" new F-15E would be superior to an F-15C in almost every way and since they're built stronger they might last longer too.
